Olympus to Exit Camera Business After 84 Years

Kosaku Narioka, reporting for The Wall Street Journal (News+ link):

Olympus Corp. is getting out of the camera business after 84 years to focus on medical devices. […]

Olympus was a global consumer brand for decades thanks to its cameras, hiring the likes of supermodel Cheryl Tiegs to promote its products on television. It shifted readily to digital cameras in the 1990s and was No. 2 in market share behind Sony Corp. early this century.

As recently as 2007, the dawn of the smartphone era, digital cameras were a $3-billion-a-year business for Olympus. Within a few years, however, most of the market evaporated because people were using their phones to take pictures. Camera revenue shrank to just over $400 million in the year ended March 31, and the business has lost money for the past three fiscal years.

The times they are a-changing.

★ Wednesday, 24 June 2020